Daddy's Bear
by FemaleChauvinist
Summary: When his daughter Julie starts having nightmares, Bashir thinks Kukalaka is the perfect solution. But he forgot he has twins…and only one bear.
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** While the attempt has been made to be medically accurate, some artistic license has been taken, and statements made by Dr Bashir are not to be regarded as authoritative. Recognizable characters and plotlines are the property of Paramount and Viacom; all original characters and story © 2017 FemaleChauvinist.

 _Do not post without permission. Do not copy/print without including the above disclaimer in its entirety._

 **2381; Twins four**

The lights of the station were dimmed as Dr Julian Bashir walked through the nearly-deserted corridors to his quarters. He and Jadzia had been putting the twins to bed when the call came over his combadge that the man injured in the recent alien invasion had taken a sudden turn for the worse. Hastily kissing Jadzia and the twins goodbye, he had hurried back to the infirmary.

The emergency surgery the man required had taken several hours, and now it was nearly midnight by the Bajoran time the station followed. He anticipated returning to quarters as quiet as the halls had been; perhaps Jadzia would be waiting up for him, but she was on duty tomorrow and he hoped she had gone to bed.

But as the door slid open at his command, he heard the sound of a child crying. Julie, he recognized instantly, and hurried forward to find out what was wrong.

Jadzia had carried Julie into her and Julian's room to avoid disturbing Jade, and now sat on the edge of the bed rocking gently and softly singing a Trill lullaby.

"Is she all right?" Bashir asked softly, sitting beside Jadzia with one arm around her and the other hand resting on Julie's shoulder. *****

"Nightmare," Jadzia mouthed, turning to look up at him.

"Ah. About what happened, I suppose?" Julian asked heavily.

Jadzia merely nodded. Julie had been captured in the alien invasion; she had been rescued by Nog and Jade without being harmed, but the sensitive little girl had been deeply traumatized. Talking with counselor Ezri Tigan had helped, but Julian knew only time would fully erase the scars, and cursed the enhanced memory she had inherited from him.

"Daddy," she whimpered, and he gently pulled her into his arms. Her arms came around his neck, clinging so tightly that he was forced to break her grip to avoid being strangled. "They got me, Daddy!"

"Shh… _I've_ got you now, sweetheart; no one's going to hurt you. Shh."

As he continued holding her and murmuring softly, her sobs lessened until she seemed almost asleep on his shoulder. But the instant she felt him stand, her arms tightened again around his neck. "No bed, Daddy; no bed!" she cried in almost hysterical fear.

"Julie, it's nighttime; you have to go to bed."

"No, Daddy! They'll get me again!" She burst out crying again on his shoulder, and he rocked her gently, thinking frantically.

"All right; shh. It's all right, sweetheart. Daddy won't let anything get you."

"But they _will_ ," she whimpered.

Julian cuddled her close, hating the thought of sedating her and knowing he would do it only if he had no other option. He supposed she would be willing to sleep in the bed with him and Jadzia, but while that might be all right for one night, Julie would expect it to continue, and a glance at his wife assured him that he didn't want that to happen.

As he turned back toward Julie, his eye fell on something else and he smiled, the solution coming to his mind. Crossing to the shelf, he picked up the battered teddy bear. "Julie, I have something for you."

"What, Daddy?" she asked, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

"Turn and look," Julian told her.

She lifted her head slowly, a tiny spark of interest coming to her eyes when she saw the bear.

"This is the bear I slept with when I was a little boy," Julian explained, "and he used to keep all my nightmares away."

" _Really_ , Daddy?"

"Really. And if I thought a dream was getting a little bit scary, I'd call, 'Kukalaka, save me!' and he'd come growling in and frighten all the nasty monsters away. Grrr!" He made a growly face as he wiggled the bear.

Julie giggled, one hand reaching for Kukalaka. "That's a funny name, Daddy."

"I suppose it is," Julian admitted. "And now it's time for you _and_ Kukalaka to go to bed."

Carrying her back to the room she shared with Jade, he tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

"Kiss Kakaluka, too, Daddy."

Julian chuckled. "Kukalaka," he corrected, obediently kissing the bear. "Now go to sleep." ******

"'Kay. Good night, Daddy."

"Good night, sweetheart." Pausing to check on Jade and marveling slightly that she apparently hadn't stirred at all, he returned to find Jadzia with her heels drawn up on the bed grinning impishly at him.

"When you were a little boy, Julian?" she teased. "You occasionally slept with that bear until the day we got married — and for all I know you still do when I'm on duty and you're not."

Julian grinned sheepishly but didn't deny it.

l Tucked In

Jadzia remained silent as he undressed, then sighed as he slipped into bed beside her. "Do you really think it will work, Julian?" she asked, wriggling closer to him and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Yes, I do," he assured her. "Most people have more control over their own dreams than they realize; the firm belief that there _is_ a way to get out is often enough to make it happen."

"Mm. Or Kukalaka really _can_ keep nightmares away," she teased. "What _are_ you going to do without him, Julian?"

"What makes you think I still have nightmares? Besides, I have you now."

"Poor Kukalaka," Jadzia sighed with a smile. "Don't let him hear that, or he might get jealous."

 **Next chapter coming next week!**

 *** Illustration for this scene can be found at femalechauvinist . deviantart . com** _[slash]_ **art** _[slash]_ **Night-Terrors-716722708**

 **** Illustration for this scene can be found at** **femalechauvinist . deviantart . com** _[slash]_ **art** _[slash]_ **All-Tucked-In-716723456**

 **A/N: Yes, I do have a story planned about the alien invasion; I might even write it someday if I can think of an ending and other "little" details like that! Barbie**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know! (Misspellings of Kukalaka's name in this story are intentional.)_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Deep Space Nine alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The rest of the night passed with no further nightmares, and Julian congratulated himself on his perfect solution. But he had neglected to take into account the fact that he had twins.

Jade said nothing when she noticed the bear, but her eyes narrowed slightly and she stared at it the whole time the twins were being tucked in the next night.

"Is that Daddy's bear?" she asked when their parents had left the room.

Julie nodded. "He gave it to me."

"That's not fair," Jade protested. "Let me sleep with it tonight, Julie."

Julie sat up, hugging the bear close. "No! It's mine!" *****

"You have to share," Jade insisted.

"No! Daddy says Kulawaka keeps nightmares away."

"Well, I might get nightmares, too," Jade pointed out.

Julie clutched the bear frantically. "No! Daddy!"

Julian came hurrying in at his daughter's cry. "What's wrong?"

"She wants to take Kukawaka!" Julie cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Well, _she's_ not sharing," Jade accused, crossing her arms in a huff.

"But you gave it to _me_!" Julie wailed.

Julian sighed as he pulled Julie into his arms, wondering why neither he nor Jadzia had anticipated this problem.

"I did," he admitted, "but we have to be nice to Jade, too. Both of you come with me," he added, standing with Julie in his arms as an idea occurred to him.

Jade scrambled to follow him as he carried Julie to the replicator in the dining area. "Julie, may I borrow Kukalaka for a minute?"

Julie released the bear reluctantly, her eyes never leaving it as he placed it in the replicator and set the device to scan.

A minute or two later, it beeped that it was complete, and Julie clutched Kukalaka fiercely as Julian handed him back to her. "What do you say, Julie?" he reminded her.

"Thank you," she murmured, her face pressed into Kukalaka's fur.

"Where's _mine_ , Daddy?" Jade demanded, tugging on Julian's hand.

"Be patient," he told her. "And ask nicely, or there might not be one for you."

"Please, Daddy?"

"All right." He pressed the button, and the replicator hummed.

Jade squealed with delight when the bear appeared in the replicator, and Julian reached to take it out, smiling to see all his old repairs faithfully reproduced. ******

"It's a Kukuluka of my own!" Jade said, squeezing the bear Julian handed her. "Now I won't have nightmares, either."

Julian chuckled; Jade had never had a problem with nightmares in the first place. "That's right. And now it's time for you two to be in bed."

For the second time that night he tucked the twins in, at their insistence kissing two teddy bears good night, too.

"Thank goodness for replicators," he sighed as he left the twins' room.

Jadzia smiled. "So, everyone's satisfied now?"

"Yes…" But his eye drifted to Kukalaka's old shelf, and he bit back a sigh. It looked strangely empty without his old teddy bear sitting there.

 **Next chapter coming next week!**

 *** Illustration for this scene can be found at femalechauvinist . deviantart . com** _[slash]_ **art** _[slash]_ **Mine-717748626**

 **** Illustration for this scene can be found at femalechauvinist . deviantart . com** _[slash]_ **art** _[slash]_ **Multiplying-Bears-717748734**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know! (Misspellings of Kukalaka's name in this story are intentional.)_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Deep Space Nine alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Once more the twins had been tucked in for the night, Julian hoping that it would be peaceful for a change. But as Julie lay there, something didn't seem right about the bear in her arms. "Jade, you took Kukuluka!" she accused.

"It's my turn," Jade insisted calmly.

Tears came to Julia's eyes. "But I _need_ him — and Daddy gave him to me!"

"But they're the same."

"Then why'd you take him?"

"'Cause I wanted a turn."

"No! The real one's mine! Daddy!"

"What is it _now_?" Bashir asked with a touch of impatience as he entered the room.

"Jade — took — Kukaluka," Julie sobbed.

"But you _have_ a bear, Julie," Bashir pointed out.

"Not — Kakaluku. The — _real_ one's mine!"

"That's not fair!"

"Both of you stop," Bashir ordered firmly. "Jade, give me that bear; the real one is _mine_." He didn't argue that there was no difference; he, too, knew which one was the original Kukalaka.

He left the room, and the only sound was Julie's soft crying; neither girl dared say anything. When he returned a few minutes later, Kukalaka was tucked under his arm and he held a second replicated bear. "Here, Jade," he told her. "Now you both have the exact same bear, so I don't want to hear any more arguing."

"But, Daddy, you gave it to me. You said it keeps nightmares away!"

Bashir sat down on the edge of Julie's bed. "This bear keeps nightmares away, too," he told her, taking the replicated bear and attempting to tuck it into her arms.

Julie pushed it aside and reached toward the original Kukalaka he held out of her reach. "It's not the same! It doesn't _smell_ like you, Daddy!"

Bashir felt a strange thrill to realize that it had never been the bear itself she cared about, but his scent on it, whether real or imagined, and the comforting sense of his presence. She, at least, was not merely bickering, and he pulled her into his arms, sorry now that he had scolded her along with Jade. She reached again for Kukalaka, and this time he let her have him.

Her sobs turned to soft sniffles, Julie cuddled against Bashir, her own arms wrapped tightly around Kukalaka as if afraid he would be taken away again.

"Tell you what, Julie. How about I let you sleep with Kukalaka tonight, and I'll sleep with your bear to make him smell like me. Then we'll let Jade sleep with Kukalaka while I sleep with her bear, and after that Kukalaka will stay on his shelf, and everyone will sleep with her own bear."

"O…kay," Julie said a little doubtfully.

"That's not fair!" Jade protested. "She _already_ slept with Kukaluku, so it should be my turn first."

Julie whimpered, clutching at Kukalaka, and Julian sighed. "Jade, Julie's the one who's been having nightmares. You just want Kukalaka because she has him; Julie really needs him. I ought to punish you for all this nonsense, and I will if I hear another word about it."

Jade scowled but remained silent, recognizing from the tone of her father's voice that he was serious.

"Ready to go to bed, sweetheart?" he asked Julie.

She nodded, and he tucked her once more under the covers. "Sweet dreams."

"Here's my bear, Daddy."

Julian took the bear and bent to kiss her and Kukalaka. "Good night." He straightened. "Good night, Jade."

"Can…I have a kiss, Daddy?" Jade asked in a low voice; Julian knew his daughter well enough to recognize it for admission that she had done wrong.

"Tell Julie you're sorry."

"I'm sorry I took Kakaluku, Julie," Jade said sincerely.

"That's better." Julian crossed the room to kiss her and tuck her in. "Now no more fussing."

"I won't, Daddy," Jade murmured sleepily. "G'night."

Julian smiled. "Good night, precious." Carrying Julie's bear by one paw, he stole out of the room.

 **oOo**

At last both twins were sleeping with their own bears, and Julian returned Kukalaka to his shelf with a fond pat and a reminiscent smile.

"Missed him?" Jadzia questioned, resting her chin on Julian's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. She had teased him when she saw Julie's bear waiting in their bed that night, but she had known not to take the teasing too far. The little boy Jules still lay buried within the confident doctor, and a careless word from her could hurt him as deeply as his father ever had.

Julian half turned in her embrace to wrap an arm around her. "Don't tell Julie," he whispered in her ear, "but she was right; a replicated copy just isn't the same as Kukalaka."

"And you were willing to let her have him."

Julian merely shrugged, as if it didn't matter, but Jadzia knew better and thought again what a wonderful man she had married.

 **Epilogue coming next week!**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know! (Misspellings of Kukalaka's name in this story are intentional.)_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Deep Space Nine alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


	4. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Within a few days, each girl had settled on a particular distortion of Kukalaka's name for her own bear. Julie's was Kukaluka and Jade's Lalakuka, and Bashir felt sure it wasn't coincidence that Julie's was closer to the original. As he had more than half expected, when Lalakuka fell out of Jade's bed she made no effort to get him back, and when Jadzia, tired of picking the bear up every morning, relegated him to the toy bin, Jade barely even seemed to notice. Julie, on the other hand, slept with Kukaluka every night, save for the times she would tell Julian in a small voice that "Kukaluka wants to sleep with _you_ tonight."

He was never sure if she felt his scent had worn off Kukaluka, or if for some reason she needed the extra comfort of Kukalaka. Whatever the reason, he always let her have his bear for the night, and Jade appeared not to notice the switch.

Then one evening Julie came running to meet him as he got home, holding up Kukaluka. "Daddy, his stuffing's coming out!"

Julian took the bear from her and examined the rip with as much care as if it had been one of his patients. "This is on the seam; it should be easy to fix," he assured her. "Come on." He reached for her hand, and she skipped at his side as he led her to Kukalaka's shelf in his and Jadzia's bedroom.

Reaching behind Kukalaka, he took down what he called his "teddy bear suture kit." He had begged the supplies from Garak on discovering he had neglected to bring any suitable needle and thread, though he hadn't told the tailor to what use he intended to put it. After all, a bear who spent all his time on a shelf as he claimed Kukalaka did would hardly experience further wear requiring stitches.

"Watch me, and you can do it yourself next time," he told Julie as he sat on the edge of the bed and cut off a length of thread. *****

"I'm too little, Daddy," Julie told him, jumping up beside him and peering over his arm.

"You're only a little younger than I was when I first sewed up Kukalaka, and you're a smart girl." He glanced at the replication of that first mending job, done before he received his enhancements, and recalled Jadzia's words; _"You were never stupid, Julian."_

"Can I try now, Daddy?"

"Sure." Pulling her into his lap, he placed his hand over hers, and together they finished fixing Kukaluka.

"Thank you, Daddy!" Julie exclaimed when they had finished. Jumping down, she ran off to put the bear in her bed ready for that night.

Slowly Julian gathered the supplies together and returned them to their place on the shelf. For a moment he let his hand lean on the shelf. "Well, Kukalaka; and what do you think of that?"

For an instant, he could have sworn the bear's eyes twinkled at him, and smiling to himself Julian turned and walked away.

The End

 ***Illustration for this scene can be found at femalechauvinist . deviantart . com** _[slash]_ **art** _[slash]_ **Teddy-Bear-Sutures-720355627**

 **A/N: All right, I know Bashir's last comment to Kukalaka is completely meaningless… I wanted to have him say something, but I can't think of what, so I stuck that in as a sort of placeholder. If anyone has any suggested, I'd be happy to hear them! Barbie**

 _I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know! (Misspellings of Kukalaka's name in this story are intentional.)_

 _Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Deep Space Nine alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie_


End file.
